Writer's Envy

I'm reading THE BOOK THIEF by Markus Zusak and I'm having a serious case of writer's envy.

Reading is both a blessing and a curse, it seems. It's what fuels much of my writing but it can also make me stall. Puts a nasty dent in my complex. I think, gosh... how I'd love to write a book like this. And man, my book is far, far, far from ever being this awesome. Why aren't I this brilliant? Why do I even bother? Bwaaaa!

I love me a fantabulous book as much as the next reader/writer, but geez, it does sting the self-confidence a little. Or a lot.

Does everyone else deal with this? Do you have a coping mechanism? I guess I just hunker down with my writing and remind myself that I have my own unique story to tell, in a way that no one else can, and try to take comfort in that.

But I'm allowed to stick out my lip and stomp my foot a little while doing so, right?

This happens to me ALL the time. Meg Cabot is my current nemesis: how does she tell a great story with so many details about teen life without feeling like she's losing the story thread?

Book Thief is so incredibly beautiful, it didn't cause me envy so much as worship. I went around for weeks reading passages from it to people. The prose is complete magic.

On the plus side, one of my friends read it while starting a new novel. I can tell it influenced her writing. The book inspired her prose to be even more lyrical and beautiful--and that's the book that's garnered a revision request from an editor. Maybe it will the one that breaks her into the novel market!

So you have official permission to stomp, but don't let it get you down--maybe you'll be inspired to new heights!

Ugh, I've so been there. I deal with it by reminding myself that I've read lots of books that I *didn't* feel that jealous sting, and that sometimes makes me feel better :-) Honestly, it's just proof that I know I have room to grow as a writer.

I'm going through the same thing and was actually going to blog about it in the next couple of days.

I'm writing a fantasy/adventure story for middle graders and thought it would be a good idea to re-read The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. Mmmm, maybe not such a good idea. He does such a fantastic job of creating characters and coming up with bizarre twists and turns and bringing them to life. Why can't I think of stuff like that? WHY?

I go through this a lot, too. I guess we all do. The thing is, there are only a few books that really make me jealous. Most of them are good and do the job, but don't make me want to rip my hair out. I remind myself that the percentage of truly awesome books is fairly small, there are a lot of mid-pack runners, and then there are some real stinkers. Running mid-pack is nothing to be ashamed of. It's where probably 80% of writers wind up.

Beyond this, I think all authors have special strengths, and we tend to envy the things we aren't particularly adept at ourselves. But we have to remind ourselves that we have our own strengths, and that other writers may be envying them. I think a lot of people don't see their strong points clearly.